Tesco supermarket prepping tablet launch

British supermarket giant, Tesco, is looking to enter the competitive tablet market with their own brand of device. Likely to run Android, the tablet will be similar to the iPad and be available for the public around the holiday season, says The Sunday Times, and go on sale alongside the Kindle Fire, iPad mini, and a selection of low-cost Android-based models already stocked by the retailer.

The yet-to-be-named tablet will come pre-stocked with books, movies, and music to sweeten the deal. Pre-loaded Tesco apps will also be included, specifically their digital grocery and banking apps. Most notably, it will also come with their online movie and music streaming service, Blinkbox.

Though it may seem somewhat strange that a supermarket would get into the tablet market, Tesco hopes to stave off intrusion from Apple and Amazon, who have ransacked the store’s DVD and book sales numbers in recent years. This way, they can recapture some of their lost marketshare, albeit in a slightly different way.

The anticipated release timeframe puts it in direct competition with the Nexus 7, the iPad mini 2, and the Kindle Fire line-up from Amazon. Though this does add yet another device to the market, it may work to bring the overall price tag down for similar tablet-sized devices. That’s a good thing for gadget-hungry consumers like you and I.

Though no price tag has been confirmed yet, it is likely we’ll see the Tesco tablet sitting around the same price as the low-end Kindle Fire, which retails for £129. A full feature set is not yet available, but we’ll be sure to keep you updated as this story unfolds and if Tesco releases any details.